Gmeurope joins micro car race
Named Adam after the founder, Opel’s latest is chasing VW’S up!-based city cars on to the European market, writes Dave Moore.
THE EAGLE-EYED of you will notice that the badges on our pictures of General Motors’ new Adam small car from Europe are from Vauxhall, but that’s simply because the British GM arm was a little more forthcoming than its German counterpart in terms of sourcing quality pictures.
So thank you, Vauxhall, for coming to the party. GM Europe can be forgiven for seeming a little disorganised, for these two ‘‘official’’ pictures seem to have been rushed out after an insider leaked similar scoop shots last week, months ahead of the Adam model’s proper release date of late September.
It was a bit of a shock that the beleaguered European arm of GM was the first to follow the Volkswagen group’s VW up! Seat Mi and Skoda Cito family of littlies onto the market, bearing in mind Ford’s dominance in the small-car segments in recent years.
Ford has its 1.0-litre World Engine of the Year three-cylinder power unit, and a fairly fresh new Ka model, but has been far too slow to put the former into the latter, which would surely have given the VW babies a run for their money.
It is also surprising that Vauxhall – an in-house rival for Opel in the GM scheme of things – has kept the German company’s founder’s name as its car’s monicker, because there is little love lost between the affiliates, especially since the news that in future cuts it will be Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port plant that will stay, while a Opel factory will have to go. For years, it was thought that it would be the other way around.
The new A-sector car is, in GM’s words, ‘‘an urban chic car that can be personalised in more than a million different ways’’.
Using premium materials and design cues often found in the luxury sector, the Adam is a threedoor, four-seater that will be unveiled at this year’s Paris Motorshow, before appearing in European showrooms by the end of the year. Right-hand-drive versions with Vauxhall badges will emerge in early 2013.
The car was designed under the aegis of Briton Mark Adams. His team gave the car what GM calls a floating roof which, like BMW’s new i3 design, is visually disconnected from the body by the use of disguising dark glass panelling and two-tone colour schemes.
The Adam retains design cues from other GM Europe offerings. Things such as the crisp line around the door handle, the blade shape in the lower doors and distinctive LED daytime running lights are all items borrowed from the larger Corsa, Astra and Signature models.
Opel and Vauxhall will offer a high degree of personalisation for the Adam, with Jam (fashionable, colourful), Glam (elegant, sophisticated) and Slam (racy, sporty) specification packs to allow punters to build their own cars.
There are almost unlimited combinations inside and out, with two roof colours, several interior colour combinations and various equipment and material choices.
One standout option is a special star-lit headlining option using tiny LED cabin lights, a feature previously available only on RollsRoyce’s Phantom.
‘‘No other car in this segment can be individualised as much as the Adam, because we are offering virtually unlimited exteriorinterior colour, fabric and kit combination choices,’’ says Mark Adams, Vauxhall-Opel’s vicepresident of design. ‘‘It’s very unlikely that you’ll find two identical Adams out there.’’
The Adam will have a choice of three efficient EcoFlex fourcylinder petrol engines from launch: a 1.2-litre 52 kilowatt, plus two 1.4-litre engines with either 65kW or 75kW, each with optional start-stop technology and all with a five-speed manual gearbox.
No diesel options are being considered at present, or hybrid and electric versions – probably for reasons of purchase pricing, which won’t be made known until the Adam’s launch. Next year, the Adam will adopt an all-new smallcapacity petrol engine, with direct injection and forced induction, and a six-speed gearbox.
The new car is designed to support new media sources, including Bluetooth, as well as phone connectivity for Android or Apple iOS software, which enables access to internet-based applications like GPS navigation. The system uses a seven-inch, full-colour touchscreen display.
The Adam will be offered with the Advanced Park Assist II system, which tells drivers when they reach a parking space big enough to fit the car and then steers them into the slot. There will also be a Side Blind Spot Alert system.
High-strength steel is used in the Adam to make an ultra-rigid passenger cell and this, with front, side and head curtain airbags, ABS, ESP and a hill-start assist setup standard across the range, is expected to ensure a 5-star Euro NCAP rating for the newcomer.
The Adam measures 3700mm long, and 1720mm metres wide on a 2311mm wheelbase. The car has front MacPherson struts, and a rear compound crank system.
Scottish engineer Alexander Wilson founded the company that was to become Vauxhall in 1857. It became so named because that was the part of London in which it was situated. Therefore, we think the British version of the Adam should be called Alex. What about it, Vauxhall?
Meanwhile, when Holden has the sense to source the car from the great GM empire’s car park, the little chap could be called Jim or Alex, for the company’s leatherworking founder was James Alexander Holden.
Alex it is then, I think.